Search results

Start typing

Exhibition banner - painting of a man seated by a tree
This exhibition is in the past. View our current exhibitions.

Headdress from the orange blossom parure

1846

RCIN 65305

Prince Albert presented Queen Victoria with elements from this parure between 1839 and 1846. The first piece, a brooch, was sent to Victoria in celebration of their betrothal. The wreath was the final piece, presented to her on their sixth wedding anniversary. Victoria, writing in her Journal noted ‘It is entirely his own design, & beautifully carried out.’ She continued to wear elements from the parure to celebrate her wedding anniversary throughout her married life. Queen Victoria’s sentimentality also found expression in her practice of fashioning items of jewellery from the milk teeth of her children. The pendant and earrings are set in the form of fuchsias using milk teeth from Princess Beatrice, Queen Victoria’s youngest child. Contemporary guides to the language of flowers listed the fuchsia as symbolic of taste.

    The income from your ticket contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Royal Collection Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational activities.